What’s the future for gas in New Zealand? We’ve all come to rely on it for cooking, heating and processing, in our homes, restaurants and industries – but recently there have been concerns there is a shortage of natural gas. However, this doesn’t mean there will be no more gas. Over time gas will transition to renewable gas alternatives like biomethane, but for now there are no concerns for gas users to move away from the reliability of natural gas.
New Zealand produces a surprisingly large amount of biogas
You may have recently heard the claim that New Zealand cannot produce enough renewable gas to bridge the gap as we move away from our traditional natural gas supply. This a myth,when in fact, New Zealand produces 4.9 petajoules of biogas – each year, mainly from waste processing. That’s according to the 2023 Vision for Biogas in New Zealand report, which found that most existing biogas was being flared as part of waste processing.
GasNZ chief executive Jeffrey Clarke says if that quantity of renewable gas was captured instead of flared, it would be enough to meet the daily gas needs of over 70% of Kiwi households, with the potential to meet 100 percent of the needs of both households and (non-industrial) business in the future.
By capturing this biogas, and growing our supply of other renewable gases, New Zealand would be well on its way to meeting 100% of our country’s gas needs for both homes and non-industrial businesses.
How many homes can be supplied with renewable gas?
There are over 300,000 Kiwi homes connected to natural gas, and together they use a total of around 6.8 petajoules (PJ) of gas annually. That’s only 5% of New Zealand’s total natural gas supply, so it will be some time before the natural gas supply runs short for residential customers.
Clarke said customers love having the choice of using gas for cooking and heating – and the transition to renewable gas will allow them to have that choice of energy into the future.
For the long term, the gas industry is planning to make sure consumers have energy options. There is already a transition plan in place which sets out a roadmap for alternatives, including biomethane and hydrogen in the pipelines instead of natural gas. With an estimated further 9.5PJ of untapped potential in the North Island and 9.1PJ in the South Island, up to 23.5PJ of biogas could be produced and upgraded to biomethane annually across New Zealand, said Clarke.
“But even if they [renewable gas alternatives] could only make up 10% of current supply, that’s more than enough to supply households and most non-industrial commercial users,” he adds.
Where is this renewable gas we could tap into?
In New Zealand, refining biogas into biomethane is already possible, thanks to a new First Renewables biogas upgrade facility at Ecogas’ Organics Processing Facility in Reporoa. The facility takes the biogas, made from food waste collected in Auckland, and turns it into biomethane, which is flowed back into the Firstgas pipeline network. Renewable gas, or biomethane, is chemically identical to conventional natural gas but comes from renewable sources such as organic waste.
The facility could produce enough renewable gas for 7,200 homes, and it’s only the start of the gas industry’s investment in a greener gas future.
“Obviously, the Reporoa facility is just the first step, and Firstgas and other companies in the sector are actively working on expanding this,” said Ben Gerritsen, General Manager of Customer and Regulatory at Clarus.
“We see real potential to keep the gas flowing for residential and commercial customers by transitioning into renewable gas just as other countries around the world are doing.”
Internationally, renewable gas as a replacement for fossil-sourced natural gas is well established. Denmark, for example, has replaced around 35 percent of its natural gas with renewable gas sourced from organic waste and has a target of increasing this to 100 percent by 2030.
Gerritsen added, “Renewable gas produced from organic waste is a win-win – as it also stops a harmful greenhouse gas escaping into the atmosphere. It really is the circular economy in action.”